Retreats

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines

What it is

A Catholic retreat is a period set apart from ordinary work and duties for prayer, usually in silence, often at a retreat house run by a religious order or diocese. Common forms are the preached (group) retreat built around talks, the individually directed retreat in which a spiritual director…

Format

• Canonical annual retreats for seminarians, priests and religious. The obligation comes from Church law. For priests the details are set by particular law.
• Individually directed retreat. Individual direction in an environment of silence and prayer. A spiritual director meets the retreatant each day, listens to their prayer experiences and helps them reflect and discern. Prayer is usually based on Scripture, and daily Eucharist is offered.…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Triangulation, or either party undermining the other. Working well: the client feels held by both and knows who does what.
• Self-blame, fear of spiritual consequences, and divided loyalty. Working well: the client is safe and informed and makes their own choices.
• Over-identifying with the client's faith or being hostile to it. Working well: the client experiences you as respectful and clear about your role.
• Frightening the client, or dismissing their faith. Keep the tone matter-of-fact. Working well: the client can name the warning signs and doesn't feel judged.
• Religious language used to bypass grief. Isolation from community. Working well: less shame, and the client chooses for themselves how to engage with ritual and community.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.